


Ex Angels

by surveycorpsjean



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, M/M, Violence, fallen angel AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-03-04 07:47:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3010607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/surveycorpsjean/pseuds/surveycorpsjean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Eren is cast out of heaven, he's picked up by a rebellious fallen angel group. He's panicked and in pain, but is instantly drawn to the beauty of the second in command. And maybe...maybe that man is just as drawn to him too. </p><p>Love happens in the war between heaven and hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is something i've been wanting to write for a while now

_“Eren Jaeger.”_

_Bright lights flooded his vision, and he was hardly able to see the judge sitting high above the court._

_“Jaeger, answer me.”_

_“Your honor,” Eren pleaded, pulling on the gold chains that held his arms tightly behind his back. They dug into his skin, pulling blood; they had to be enchanted. “Please, have mercy-“_

_“This is the last time I will repeat myself.” The judge bellowed, and smacked his hammer against the gold table, sending sparks. “Did you, or did you not leave the gates of heaven without a permit.”_

_Eren swallowed, and looked up at the heavenly jury that glared at him with intensity. He looked down at the ground, “I did...”_

_“Not only did you leave without a god’s permission,” the judge stroked his beard, “but you entered a restricted area.”_

_“Please!” Eren jumped forwards, his chains pulling him back, “Those people were going to die! I couldn’t watch-“_

_“People die every day, boy.” A jury member spat angrily, “It’s not your job to play god!”_

_“We are angels!” Eren screamed, “We’re supposed to bless people- to protect them! That village did nothing wrong!“_

_“Only a god may decide when someone will or will not die.” The judge hissed. “You are only half a century old. You have seen nothing of death and destruction. You have committed sins against heaven, and you will be punished as such.”_

_“He was just trying to help!”_

_Eren swung his head back, to see his sister being held back by his best friend, Armin. Mikasa’s eyes were angry and her wings beat desperately to get out of Armin’s grasp._

_“Do not speak out of turn, young woman.“_

_“Please don’t-“_

_“Guards.” The judge called, and Eren screamed to his sister as she was pulled out of the courtroom with Armin._

_“Mikasa!”_

_“Eren!”_

_“Jaeger, you will be extracted immediately.”_

_The words stung his throat, and he swallowed back tears. He looked up to the judge, “Please have mercy…”_

_“I’m sorry, boy.” The judge tapped his hammer against the table, making the decree official. “Rules are rules.”_

* * *

It was dark. Dark and musty... He could feel his arms being pulled above his head, and his legs were tied to the ground. There was a gag placed around his mouth.  He didn't know where he was- he didn't know there was a dark place in heaven. The only brightness the room came from his own halo.

A door swung open, letting in a ray of light that landed across his eyes. He squinted as a man wearing a face mask entered pushing a cart with various tools. The door shut behind him, and he spoke with a deep voice, “I will begin the extraction now.”

Eren tried begging no, but the gag around his mouth allowed only muffled sounds. There was a needle in his arm and suddenly he was screaming. He could feel the natural gold aura around him begin to shrink. It felt like someone was digging their cold hands into his body and pulling out his soul from the inside. Eren thrashed against the chains, but it was to no avail. He screamed against the gag, and he felt the energy of his halo dim; it slid off his head and landed on the metal floor with a _clank_ noise. It was dead and lifeless now. He watched in horror as the halo turned to dust on the floor. He felt his skin turning pale white, and whipped his head back against the wall behind him.

Eren was crying now- he was feeling real pain- real _mortality_ began to shake his body. 

Suddenly there was a knife at his back, and he shrieked a silent scream as his wings fell to the ground.

* * *

 “Is this one dead?”

“I don’t know, how can we tell?”

“Hmm, maybe you should check if he’s _breathing_ you fucking moron.”

“Wow, you don’t have to be such an asshole…jeez.”

“He’s breathing all right. Should we bring him back?”

“Might as well, Erwin needs all the recruits he can get.” 

"He's actually kinda cute..." 

Eren grumbled as he slowly became conscious again. There was a burning pain in his head, and an even more horrifying pain in his back. As soon as he opened his eyes he cried out in agony.

“Woah! Hey there, buddy.” There was a short man with a bald head in his view. He held up his hands in defense, “Calm down-“

Eren cried out and tried to push away from all the unfamiliar faces standing behind him. “Wh- who-“ He groaned, and he felt cold stickiness against his body. Was this blood? Oh gods, this was blood.

A woman’s voice spoke, “We gotta go bandage him up, or he’s not going to be alive for much longer.”

There were hands grabbing towards him, and he shuffled back against the ground in panic, “Don’t touch me!”

“Fuck, dude, were trying to help you!” A guy with a long face and undercut crossed his arms in anger. “Stop being so difficult.”

“Where am I?!” Eren screamed. He couldn't stand, he could hardly feel his legs.

“Calm down, it’s going to be okay-“

Eren’s breathing became labored as he began to panic- wait _breathing?_ Angels didn't breathe! Eren suddenly felt darkness creeping in his vision and he fell backwards. The last thing he heard was

“ _Damn_ he passed out.”

* * *

 

“Well, well, well. Look who’s awake!”

Eren felt déjà vu as he opened his eyes to a headache and a room full of strangers. He noticed that everyone was wearing black from head to toe.

“What…” Eren rubbed his face, “What happened-“

“You were extracted.” The long faced man crossed his arms.

Eren was suddenly wide awake and shot up in bed, “What!” He cried out as pain swept through his body.

“Woah, woah, calm down.” A woman with glasses pressed her hands against his chest. “Let me ask the questions. Don’t scare him into shock, Jean.”

The woman smiled warmly, “Hello! My name is Hanji! Can you remember your name?”

“…Eren.” He looked around at the room full of people, feeling very dizzy. “Eren Jaeger.”

“Wonderful!” She clasped her hands together. “Do you remember what happened?”

“N…no.” Eren closed his eyes. “Yes? Maybe? I remember them-“ his eyes snapped open in shock, feeling emptiness and pain where his wings used to be. “Oh g-“

He found himself emptying his stomach into a trash bin that was shoved in front of him with amazing speed. A feeling of nausea kept sweeping over him as he thought about his white wings slumping to the ground and fading into dust.

“Wow, already throwing up. That’s a new record.”

“He’s reacting better than you did, Connie.”

“Shut up! At least I didn't piss my pants!”

“Why you-“

Eren looked up at the people in the room and suddenly realized where he was.

“Eren…” Hanji placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re in the underworld right now. You had your wings cut off, and you were banished from heaven. I’m sorry but…you’re mortal now. Please be careful with your body. ”

“The underworld…” Eren spoke aloud. His eyes were clouded with anger and he leaned away from Hanji’s touch, “I want to leave right now! I don’t want to be with- with _demons!_ ”

“Woah! How rude!”

“This is what we get for dragging his sorry ass all the way here?”

“Listen, dude.” A tall woman with freckles spoke. “Erwin is going to come in here and he’s going to give you two options- join us and fight, or battle all of hell alone. Your choice.”

“Alright, alright.” Hanji waved, “That’s enough. Give him some space. You all remember how it felt.”

Eren’s head pounded, and hardly noticed as the room emptied.

* * *

 Eren sat in the hospital like bed with his head in his hands. He felt like his whole world has been shattered. He missed his two best friends.

There was a knock at the door, and two men entered. They were both very attractive. The tall blonde one nodded, “I am commander Erwin, and this is my second in command, Levi. I understand you are the newest fallen angel, is that correct?”

“Um..y-yeah, I guess,” Eren tried to sit up, but agony lit up his spine and his face contorted into pain. 

“Don’t.” Erwin held up his hand. “We’re just here to talk.”

“Where did you guys find me?” Eren asked angrily.

“All fallen angels are left at the gates of hell.”

“To be eaten up by the hell hounds.” Levi snarled. “Fucking, Satan and his dog fetish.”

“Wait so… you guys don’t…work for the devil?” Eren’s brain hurt.

Levi bristled and Erwin shook his head, “No. We’re in the underworld, not hell. Only fallen angels and dead souls live here.”

For the first time Eren noticed the large black wings sprouting from their backs. _Fallen angels._ Eren thought, _I’m in the home of the ex-angels. I thought it was just a legend?_

“Your back will be in pain for a couple weeks, but in a month or so your wings will grow back.”

Eren covered his mouth with his hand in relief, “They will?”

“Yep. But you won’t have those pretty white ones anymore. They’re gonna be like ours.” Levi crossed his arms. “I hope you like the color black.”

Eren finally got a good look at the corporal, and noticed that he was noticeably shorter than the commander, but still held a strong presence. Like his existence demanded your loyalty.  

In contrast, Erwin had this professional, yet friendly aura about him.  “You’re welcome to leave if you choose, but I’d like to offer you a place here, with us. Its much safer, I assure you. ”

“That one girl said to join the fight…” Eren looked towards the door, “What fight?”

“It doesn't matter.” Levi snapped, “But you have to decide now. Are you one of us or not?”

Eren was silent, and looked down at his bandages that wrapped around his entire chest. _I guess I don’t have a choice…I can’t survive on my own. I really have no idea what's out there._  He looked up at the authorities, and nodded his head slowly.

The commander smiled and reached out his hand, “Good, welcome to the team then.”

* * *

A couple days later, Eren was still on edge. He felt empty, and hollow, and alone. He had no sense of where he was- no sense of _who_ he was really, now that all his angelic powers were gone. He was no longer immortal, no longer had healing powers or magic.

As he wallowed in self-pity, a barrage of dark angels poured into the room, fumbling over each other and beating their wings.

“Hey newbie!”

“Out of my way!”

“Is he alive?”

“Of course he’s alive, Hanji wouldn't let him _die-_ “

They crowded around his bed, and Eren’s breathing picked up in panic, “Um…“

There was a hand shoved in his face, and he blinked in shock. The bald boy grinned, “I think we got off on the wrong foot. My name’s Connie!” Eren was hesitant, but slowly shook his hand.

A girl pushed in next to him, “And I’m Sasha! And that’s Jean and Marco and Ymir and Christa and Reiner and Bertholt and-“

“Hey! Let us introduce ourselves, will ya?” Reiner laughed. He gripped Eren on the shoulder, “It’s crazy here, but you’ll adjust. I heard you told Erwin you’d join! Welcome to the team.”

“Uh..thanks.” Eren shook his hand. He looked at all the grinning faces, and asked slowly, “Um…why…why are you guys being so nice to me?”

The short blonde girl hopped up on the foot of his bed and smiled, “I know, I remember too. All the stories of how fallen angels are evil and bad. They make us out to seem like gross monsters of hell- but it’s just not true! Nope, not at all.” She laughed sweetly.  

“I know it’s all so overwhelming,” Marco folded his hands behind his back, and pressed his dark wings flat, “But all we have is each other, you know?”

“I just…I feel so-“ Eren clenched his fists, “so-“

“Empty?”

“Yeah.” Eren grumbled. “Useless.”

“Ill tell you a secret.” Reiner grinned. “The angels are flawed. Their extraction serum doesn't get rid of your magic- it can’t…it just kind of changes it into something different. You’ll see, once you heal.”

When the parade of dark angels left, Eren found himself in a  better mood.

* * *

Weeks had passed and Eren was feeling restless. His back was healing, but showed no signs of sprouting any new wings. He missed the feeling- the softness of feathers. He was jealous of the others who flew in and out of his room. After countless days in the damn hospital bed, he decided it was time to find out what the underworld really looked like. Hanji left an hour ago, so Eren decided it was now or never.

He pushed his feet out of the bed, and as he stood he slumped against the wall. His balance was shit now that his wings no longer existed. He used the wall for support and tumbled through the doors. He found himself walking down a long hallway. It was tedious; trying to stay upright. He wobbled forwards and backwards like a human baby. He reached the end of the hallway and stumbled through another pair of doors. When he pushed them open, he found himself staring at what could only be described as some kind of underground bunker. There were layers, with rooms upon hundreds of rooms that wrapped up the cylinder shaped building. Dark winged angels flew around the enormous building laughing and hustling busily. Eren was reminded of an ant colony. 

“What are you doing out?”

Eren jumped, and was met with a face he hadn't seen since the first day he landed here. “I uh-“

“You’re the new kid, right?” The dark haired man crossed his arms with a scowl, “I could see you hobbling from a mile away.”

“Sorry, sir.” Eren grumbled, “But I just couldn't handle that hospital room anymore.”

Levi slumped a little bit, and leaned against the railing and looked down. The bunker extended up and down miles, lit up by torches. “Yeah, it’s torturous. Wait until the new bones start growing, you won’t want to leave Hanjis side. Human painkillers are fucking great. ”

"Where..." Eren thought out loud, "Where are all the souls?" 

"Outside." The second in command nodded towards the walls that surrounded them, "We built this bunker just so we didn't have to hear all the souls and their  _damn_ crying. Its fucking horrible." 

“I didn't know any of this existed.” Eren muttered, looking at the enormous underground kingdom.  

“You’re not supposed to.” Levi said strictly. “As far as heaven knows, every ex-angel is left at the gates of hell as food to the Cerberus.”

“Why is this kept a secret?” Eren watched as someone leaped over the railing and soared down to one of the bottom levels.

“Because both heaven and hell wants us dead.” The corporal’s tone was deep, and attractive. “We’re a threat to both.”

 _A threat?_   Eren blinked. He wanted to ask so many questions. As far as he knew…these were all good people. Why would heaven want them dead? Wouldn't they be happy with the fact that they cast them from heaven? Eren looked to the man next to him- he looked annoyed, so Eren kept his mouth shut. The more he looked though…the more Eren’s heartbeat quickened. It surprised him, considering he wasn't used to having one. 

But angels were naturally attracted to beauty, and as he looked he noticed that the corporal was the _pinnacle_ of beauty. He had long eyelashes and perfect skin. His undercut was precise, and his eyes were cold but stunning.

“Did you hear me?”

“Huh?” Eren blinked.

Levi rolled his eyes, “I don’t have time for your stupid ass- I asked _how_ you got into this mess in the first place?”

“Oh…” Eren scratched his head. “I um… I left the gates without a permit.”

Levi raised an eyebrow, “That’s it?”

“I…also tried to save a village. Some small group in Africa or something. They were going to die for no reason and I-“

“Ah.” Levi put his hands into his pockets. “You’re a heroic bastard. Interesting.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Levi hopped up on the rail and spread his wings- they were larger than any Eren had ever seen. “Get back in the hospital, newbie,  before Hanji sees and throws a goddamn fit.”

He then leapt off the rail, and sailed up and away.

Eren was left wondering how anyone that beautiful could be cast out of heaven.

* * *

“And this is our room!” Connie spread out his hands in glee. “Your bed is right there, and I sleep here, and Marco has the bed in the left corner, and Jean has the one on the right! If they make weird noises at night just ignore them they’re probably banging-“

“Connie!” Marco shrieked in horror and Jean threw a pillow across the room. Connie laughed and shielded his face.

“It’s true though!”

Eren let out a laugh- probably his first since arriving, and sat down on his bed. He noticed some fresh pairs of black clothing on his bed. As he examined them, he noticed some were casual, like jeans and t-shirts; and some looked like uniforms. It had padding and the material was tough. He noticed there was also an assortment of toiletries given to him. Eren suddenly realized that he never had to take care of a body before. He’d watched humans, of course. But the thought of having to actually brush his teeth made him miss his immortality.

“Hey, Eren,” Marco smiled sweetly. “Can I see your wings?”

“Oh um.” His face turned red, “Yeah…but they’re not really...grown yet. It’s actually kinda gross.” He turned around and Marco examined the small bones jutting out of his back. They were covered in leathery black, and were beginning to develop feathers.

“They look good so far though!” Marco grinned. “I can tell they’re going to be big and beautiful!”

Eren smiled, “Thanks Marco.” He looked down at his hands. “My old wings were…”

“We know.” Jean crossed his arms. “We know.”

It was silent again, and so Connie piped up to break it. “So! How about I give you a formal tour? We still haven’t seen the training arena or the cafeteria!

Eren nodded, with a small smile, “Let’s go then.”

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

Eren sat alone in the modest room he shared with three others. Books were scattered across his bed, and he rubbed his eyes, sore from reading for so long. His developing wings were wrapped in bindings to protect the new appendages; but it also rendered him useless. So he stared at the ancient textbooks that Hanji had dumped on his bed three days ago.

" _I know you don't understand a lot yet, but in the freedom corps we're always fighting demons. It's your job to memorize every single demon from hell and their weaknesses. You need to know where they live, what they eat, who they possess, or what they do to the earth. You always have to know your enemy."_

_Eren just stared at the piles of papers she held in her hands, "…every one?"_

" _Yes," She laughed, "You can do it. In heaven they never tell angels of the horrors of hell, but now is your time to learn."_

At first Eren groaned about the thought of so much reading. He never had to read in heaven- or at least it never took any effort. Although, as Eren flipped the pages he found himself feeling ignorant, and amazed by all the creatures he never knew.

"Jaeger."

Eren jumped, the old book slipping from his fingers, and looked up at the figure in the doorway. The second in command stood with his arms crossed. "Uh-"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Um…Hanji told me I needed to memorize-"

"Not that, moron." Levi hissed, "Training started  _fifteen_ minutes ago."

Eren swallowed in surprise, "But they told me I wasn't supposed to move a lot until my wings developed?"

"I don't care. You need to sit and watch how shit is done around here. You can certainly learn a lot more from watching then Hanjis stupid fucking books."

"You don't…believe in this stuff?" Eren looked at all the papers.

Levi huffed, "I believe in learning on the job. Now move, before I make you."

Eren's face flushed lightly and moved to stand. Walking was still difficult, his balance was wobbly, and he felt like the world was constantly spinning underneath him. Levi didn't help, but he didn't leave his side either. They walked the long way down the bed corridors, passing room after room. As Eren limped, he couldn't help but sneak a look at the dark angel. He had on the same training uniform that had been put in his room; it was black with padding that looked like armor. It was skin tight and extremely flattering. Eren could see the lines of strong muscles through his uniform.

It was silent until they made it out into the center of the cylinder bunker. Levi hopped over the rail, taking flight in the air. He hovered, saying, "Take the elevator down to the bottom floor, and go down the hallway on the right. You better show up or I'll kick your ass."

Eren nodded, "Yes sir," and the corporal took off towards the lower level.

When Eren finally made it to the doors of the arena, he was surprised to see  _how_  big it was. It was like a huge dome; there were large grassy fields, a circular fighting ring, hurdles, and lots of sparring equipment. The lights were supplied from electricity on the top of the ceiling. It made him forget momentarily that he was thousands of miles under the surface of the earth. Eren looked to see all the dark angels in neat lines practicing fighting stances.

Eren swayed over towards the benches and sat in a sigh of relief. He smiled and waved back when a couple of his friend spotted him excitedly. He caught himself surprised by the thought  _friends._  He wasn't sure if he could call them that; but he didn't know what else to call them. So far they had been nothing but nice, but it made him homesick of the two friends he left up in heaven.

Erwin was pacing around the fallen angles, calling out numbers for stances. The rows of angels punched, kicked, and shouted in perfect uniform. It was almost like a dance, sort of. They kick flipped through the air; and landed with elegance. Eren couldn't help but think  _yep, all these people used to be angels. I can see it in their graceful steps._

He realized that they held swords; long box cutter like weapons that looked sharp enough to slice a brick in half. They whirled them around, perfectly synchronized as they practiced. It was oddly beautiful. Suddenly they were doing something different; fighting against punching bags, actually. Eren was surprised by how strong they were. His attention was drawn to a loud noise, and whipped his head around to see a robust blonde girl kick a punching bag in half. The sand slumped to the ground, spilling out of the bag, and she stood back in surprise.

_Annie._  Eren thought,  _I think that's her name?_  Eren remembered Connie mentioning something about her.

" _She's fucking strong and kinda mean but she kicks major ass and actually kinda cares about our wellbeing. Sometimes."_

They trained for hours, both Levi and Erwin yelling out formations and commands. It made Eren eager to join. They never learned how to fight physically in heaven; they just had magic. Fighting wasn't really even an option, really. It was uncharted territory, and Eren was excited.

"So what do you think so far?"

"Hm?" Eren turned to Marco, who was sweaty and tired but still preppy and cheerful.

"Of the training? Scared at all?" Jean appeared behind him and rested with his hand behind his back.

"Oh…no." Eren looked out at Connie and Sasha who were sparring ridiculously with each other. "I'm actually kind of excited. It looks fun."

Jean snorted in disbelief, but Marco laughed, "Good luck with that."

"Were actually just about to start flight training." Reiner suddenly popped out of nowhere and straddled the bench next to Eren. "It looks like you'll be able to join in too soon, from the looks of those wings." He gestured towards Eren's back, where the bandaged appendages were pressed against his spine for comfort.

Eren blinked, "Flight training? But flying is easy."

"It's not  _just_  flying." Jean rolled his eyes, "It's aerial patterns and shit. You learn to fight in the air."

Eren's shocked expression spurred Marco to explain. He laughed, "It sounds weird but you won't  _believe_  how many times we've run into flying demons while were traveling somewhere."

"Especially dragons," Reiner blanched, "Nightmarish fiends."

"Jeez…" Eren rubbed his temple, "And humans can't see them?"

"Nope."

"Ignorant bastards."

Suddenly there was yelling, and his friends were jogging back over to the arena, leaving Eren with even more questions.

* * *

The cafeteria was bustling with noise and excitement that night. The dark angels were nice enough to help him into a seat and grab his food for him. A large group sat around a table chatting enthusiastically, and it made Eren forget his troubles momentarily.

That is, until he leaned back in laughter, and squished his still developing wings against the chair. He cried out in pain and slumped forwards. There was a hand at his back, rubbing out the pain, and he recognized it as Sasha's.

"Aw man," Ymir shook her head and shivered, "I remember when I had to regrow."

"I think we all do." Bertholt scratched his head, "It's hard to forget."

"Don't worry Eren, it'll be better soon," Christa smiled, and Eren nodded, still mentally willing the throbbing to go away.

Sasha complimented, "Yeah, you seem to have adjusted to our lifestyle pretty quickly, actually,"

Eren opened his mouth to reply, but all their heads turned to the center of the cafeteria at a shattering noise.

"You fucking idiot," Levi snapped, looking at the coffee that was now dripping down his torso.

An angel he didn't recognize stuttered, "I-I'm so sorry sir-"

"You better clean this shit up, immediately." Levi barked, "And get me another coffee. You have two minutes before I kick your ass."

The young angel jumped away and dashed towards the bathroom to grab paper towels. Levi stomped away towards Erwin, who was waiting in the doorway with an amused expression. They heard Levi yell, "Don't give me that fucking look-" before they left the room. As soon as the duo left, the room began to lighten again with noise.

"Jeez…" Eren stared at the poor soul scrubbing at the floor, "What's that guy's problem? He may be in charge but he doesn't have to be an asshole."

Reiner rubbed his nose, "Levi has been here for a long time. Almost as long as Erwin."

" And he's really really,  _really_  strong." Sasha mumbled. "Like  _really_  strong."

"Still, it was just an accident." Eren shoved a spoon full of mashed potatoes in his mouth and muffled, "It's not that big of a deal."

"Well, that's just Levi for ya."

"Yeah…not to mention he's not too keen on messes."

"You'll get used to him."

Eren looked out towards the door, "So…how long  _has_  he been here?"

"A millennium." Jean answered shortly.

"No way!" Eren covered his mouth with his hand, "A thousand years?"

Jean rolled his eyes, "That's what I said, idiot."

"If you think that's long, try Erwin." Ymir crossed her arms and leant back in her chair. "Rumor is that he was the first dark angel to, you know, survive. He's the one that started all this freedom corps shit."

"Yep, all the other ones before him were eaten." Christa said sadly.

"Woah…" Eren thought aloud. "That's incredible."  _I was only created a hundred years ago._

"It is incredible. That's why they both have all our respect." Sasha smiled.

Eren looked back towards the door one more time before resuming his meal.

* * *

Eren had never felt such excitement before in his lifespan. His newly beating heart was thumping in his chest as Hanji slowly unwrapped his bindings. He could hear the grin in her voice, "Wow Eren…they're beautiful."

"Are they?" Eren craned his neck to look back. She pulled off one final bandage, and threw them in the trash bin.

"Of course," She grasped each of his wings and pulled back, stretching them slowly. Eren looked in the mirror across the room; they were big and black. It was nearly a shock- a part of his brain almost thought they would be white again. But they weren't. They were black as proof of the sin he committed. But nevertheless they were there, and it felt like a piece of his soul had returned.

"Wow!" Eren tried moving them, but Hanji held them tight,

"Try not to move, I need to make sure they're healthy,"

"They are they are-"

She laughed again, "Eren  _stop_ , please,". She ran her fingers over the feathers and felt the bones underneath. She pulled them out to their full length examining their size. "You're right, they're very healthy. They're going to do you good, Eren." He grinned, and he heard her giggle again, "How cute! There are little grey freckles on some of the feathers!"

"Don't tease," Eren laughed jokingly and hopped off the table. He turned around and wrapped his arms around Hanji in a hug, "Thank you,"

She was surprised at first, but grinned and returned his hug, "You're very welcome Eren. Welcome to the team."

There was a knock on the hospital door, and suddenly a parade of dark angels were jumping into the room.

"Eren! Your wings!"

"Wow they're so pretty!"

"You did it! I Told you man,"

"Congratulations!"

"You're officially one of us!"

Eren was overwhelmed by everyone talking over each other, so he just laughed, "Thanks, guys."

"You know what this means, right?" Ymir grinned.

"Party time!" Christa jumped excitedly.

Eren blinked, "What?"

"We always throw a party for a dark angel getting their black wings," Marco explained.

Eren shook his head, "You guys don't have to do that-"

"But its tradition!" Connie cried out. "You don't have a choice!"

And he really didn't have a choice, because that night everyone gathered in the cafeteria where the cooks prepared deserts and alcohol was bought from human stores. The music was loud, and people were dancing ridiculously on the tables. It wasn't like anything Eren had ever experienced. The parties in heaven were civil, proper and sweet. This was a little overwhelming.

"Drink, Eren!" Reiner was already drunk, hobbling over people and laughing louder than anyone else, "It's  _your_  party."

"I've never had alcohol," Eren stared at the cup being offered to him.  _It was a sin._

"Don't make him do anything," Bertholt showed up behind the blonde and lightly tapped his head with his fist.

Eren smiled, "I'll just take a little, thanks." Bertholt smiled back shyly.

As the night progressed, he talked to various people and met others that he hadn't gotten the time to speak to. From what Eren noticed, it almost seemed like everyone else needed this party more than he did. The corps was strict and tough, so it was nice to see the hardworking people enjoy themselves.

For Eren this party meant the beginning of his work. It was obvious that everyone had to do their part to make this place function. His shift would actually begin tomorrow; everyone rotated between cooking, cleaning, laundry, and whatever other jobs needed to be done. Surprisingly enough, Eren was looking forward to it. He was looking forward to work; to not being useless. He'd done nothing but sit in bed and read for the past month.

He was brought out of his thoughts when a hand ran through his feathers. He shivered and jumped, turning to see a drunken Connie at his side.

"Oh, sorry, man." Connie snickered, "I just wanted to see them close up- Hanji was right there  _are_  little freckles."

Eren rolled his eyes and turned back to watch people dance. He was shocked to see Levi walk through the door, hands in his pockets and skeptical eyes scanning the party. He walked over towards the table and grabbed himself a beer. Eren turned to Connie, "Dude, Levi is here-" but he stopped dead when he noticed Connie was no longer next to him, but dancing with Sasha. He breathed out a laugh to himself and sipped whatever was in his cup.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Eren jumped again and looked at Levi who had taken the seat Connie was in seconds before.

"Jeez you're jumpy. We have to fix that," He sipped the beer.

"Um, sorry. Yeah I'm having fun," Eren turned to observe the party.

"It's a stupid tradition, but it's the only time Erwin allows this shit in here." Levi gestured to the bottle in his hand, "Sneaking it in all the time is annoying."

"Why?"

"Because  _alcohol clouds the brain_  or whatever. I personally think its bullshit, but then again I don't get stupid drunk."

"Oh," Eren nodded and looked down at the cup in his hands. "Everyone here is so cool. I can't believe they were all kicked out of heaven."

Levi stared at all the ex-angels having fun. His gaze was almost protective, "Most of them are here for similar reasons."

"Like what?" Eren wanted Levi to keep talking; his presence alone caused light flutters in his stomach he couldn't recognize. He found himself gazing at him again, taking in his astounding presence. He was wearing a studded choker that contrasted his pale skin beautifully.

"Love." Levi said with an annoyed tone. "Either with another angel or a human on earth."

"That's it?" Eren blinked, "But that's so…"

"Yeah, it's fucking ridiculous, but that's heaven for you." Levi leaned back in his chair and took other sip of his beer, "Jean and Marco came here together."

"This just isn't right…" Eren shook his head, "Things shouldn't be this way…"

"Believe it or not almost everyone here got fucked over for seemingly innocent reasons. I mean look at you, Mr. Hero." Levi glanced at Eren, and he felt his own skin flush red. The corporal's lips twitched into a smirk, and then he looked away.

They didn't speak for a moment, only listening to the music someone was playing. Eren summoned the courage to ask, "Why…why are you here?"

Levi's eyes widened, but he didn't look at Eren. He abruptly stood up to leave and said, monotone, "It's none of your concern, newbie," And then he promptly left the room.

* * *

It was dead silent as they scrubbed the bathroom floors. Everyone woke up that morning complaining of horrible hangovers and stomach aches. Eren felt fine, but he hadn't consumed  _nearly_  as much alcohol as everyone else did.

He paused halfway through wiping down the mirror, and thought of his conversation with Levi last night. He turned to look at Connie, who had bags under his eyes and an ice pack taped to his head. "Hey, Connie?"

"Hn?" the bald man squinted at him, "Yeah?"

"Does uh…" he looked around before questioning, "Does anyone know what happened to Levi? Like why he got extracted I mean?"

"Oh," Connie returned to mopping the floor, "No, nobody does. Erwin and Levi are a mystery."

"Nothing? No rumors or anything?"

"Tons of rumors, but I bet none of them are true."

"You guys are so fucking loud, can you guys please shut your damn faces for five seconds," Jean popped out of a stall wearing gloves and a mask over his mouth and nose.

Eren spat back, "Go back to cleaning toilets, asshole. That hangover is your damn fault."

"You motherfucker-"

" _Guys_ ," Connie moaned, holding his head, "Can we please not do this today?"

The sound of Erwin's boots clicking down the hallway instantly stopped the commotion, and all was quiet again. The rest of the day, Eren thought of the corporal.

* * *

When Eren showed up to the arena for training he excitedly walked forwards to join his friends. He wasn't expecting a hand to shove itself in front of his chest. "Where do you think you're going?"

Eren halted and looked to see Levi glaring at him angrily. He was the same height as Eren, if not, a tad bit shorter. "I was going to practice, sir." Eren said respectfully.

"Not with them, you're not."

"I'm not?" Eren tipped his head, slightly resembling a puppy.

"No, you get to play catch up." Levi turned on his heel and began walking forwards. He gestured with his hand, "Come."

"Um," Eren stared blankly at his retreating form before jogging up behind him, "What for?"

"You're nowhere near the level everyone else is." Levi walked onto the grass, "A newly fallen angel's body is still weak. It's used to being spoiled from magic. It's time to learn hard work and pain."

_As if I haven't learnt pain,_  Eren thought. "So…you're going to-"

"Yes." Levi rolled his eyes hard enough to pop them out of his skull, " _I_ got stuck with babysitting duty. Now stop asking questions, before you really piss me off. Fifty laps around the arena; go."

"Yes sir." Eren said reluctantly.

* * *

"So," Jean grinned, "First day of training. How was it?"

Eren groaned into his pillow; face down, "Uggh,"

His roommates laughed, and Marco sat down on his bed to comfort him, "We could see you from across the arena. It looked like you were working hard."

"My everything hurts." Eren rolled over so his face was no longer in his bed. He looked up at Marco, "Levi is a fucking asshole."

"You should be grateful," Connie said seriously from his bed, "You're being trained by  _Levi_."

"And that's a big deal because…?" Eren crossed his arms.

"Because Levi doesn't train  _anyone._ " Marco looked across the room to Jean for assurance. Jean nodded, and Marco continued, "Normally new recruits are just trained by stronger ex angels. The corporal never does grunt work like that himself. It's actually a huge deal."

"My muscles can say otherwise." Eren mumbled.  _He may be gorgeous but all he did was yell at me all day._

"Don't be an ungrateful brat." Jean called out, "If he's taking the time to teach you, you need to show him you're dedicated. Or else you might find yourself out of the corps."

Eren groaned.

The next few weeks weren't easy. Training was held every day and his muscles screamed through all of it. The only enjoyable parts were getting to see his new friends every so often.

"Firmer." Levi crossed his arms, "A bigger demon wouldn't even  _feel_  that punch."

Eren laid his fist into the punching bag even harder and internally groaned as he felt the bones in his fist complain. He was currently learning the formations he had seen everyone else do. This was just basic training, apparently. Levi said he had to learn how to fight with his body before he got to use any weapons. And so he punched the bag harder and harder until Levi nodded his head and Eren slumped to the ground in a pant.

"You get five minutes," Levi ordered, "And then were teaching you how to fly."

"I already know how to fly." Eren assured.

Levi barked out a sarcastic laugh that caused Eren to shiver. His face was serious as he turned away, "No. You don't."

Eren watched his retreating form before looking down at his bleeding knuckles. This was brutal. Levi was right though, he was used to the spoils of magic. Never feeling pain, never having to use your body to fight. But this almost felt good; it felt real. Like everything before this wasn't. Eren looked back at Levi who was drinking from a canteen. He felt this surge of determination take over his body,  _I'll show him. I'll show him that I'm worth the effort._

" _Harder_  Eren. You'll never get off the ground like that."

Eren flapped his wings as hard as he could; he could only get a few inches of air before his feet crashed back to the ground. He put his hands on his knees and panted- he had been at this for hours. Since when was flying so hard?

"You won't be able to fly from standing still anytime soon." Levi instructed, "It takes practice. Right now you need to try running and jump into it. Again."

Eren took a deep breath, but nodded his head in determination. He took a few steps back on the grass, and then surged into a run. He began to flap his heavy wings and jumped into the air. He got higher this time; but again came crashing back to the ground. When he did he lost balance, and rolled a few times on the grass before landing on his back. He groaned and closed his eyes in pain. When he opened them again, Levi was standing over head with a disappointed look. Eren covered his face, "Why is this so hard?"

"Because." Levi stood back to allow Eren to get back on his feet, "Heavenly wings are light and enchanted so it's easier to fly. Dark wings are heavy, as if to be a burden. You have to take what you get and make something out of it. Again."

_That almost sounded motivational._  He thought. Eren's body screamed in pain but said, "Yes sir," And tried again.

* * *

One morning Hanji showed up in his room, giggling excitedly and pulling him towards her lab. She kept repeating, "So exciting! So exciting!"

Eren allowed himself to be pulled into a dark room, and blinked when Hanji flicked on the lights. She skittered across the room and picked up a jar. She held it in front of his nose, "Look! Look!"

Eren squinted into the jar, "Is that…"

"It is!" Hanji squealed, "It's an alp! Isn't it cute?"

There was a small, nasty looking creature inside the jar. Eren had never seen anything like it; only pictures from all those books he had read. It was hunched over with fangs and a contorted face. It looked at Eren and snarled. Unfortunately for the alp, it was so small, the intimidation level was low.

Eren thought out loud, and tapped the jar, "Wow…a nightmare demon. Hanji, why is it here?"

"Well, you see," She pushed up her glasses, "I found this thing skittering around the bed halls. It's a good thing I found it before nightfall too! Or else someone would have had a very unfortunate sleep, hehe."

"What are you going to do with it?" Eren tapped the glass again, and it hissed at him.

"Why, study it of course!"

"Will Erwin let you do that?"

Hanji paused, her happy face turning blank. She suddenly jumped towards Eren in a panic, "Oh please! Please don't tell him! Or Levi! They'll kill it- it's such a cute little thing- oh  _please_  Eren-"

He laughed, and held a hand to her shoulder, "Don't worry, I won't."

"You're a real pal!" She looked so relieved. Eren laughed again, and watched as she locked up the jar in a dark cabinet. "Alright, now time to heal you up."

* * *

It was lonely. Everyone else had left on an expedition, and Eren was left behind because he still couldn't fly. His fighting was mediocre at best, and he still hadn't even picked up a sword yet. He wasn't allowed in the briefing room, so he had no idea what his friends were doing or who they were fighting. It was miserable; he wanted to be out there. He wanted to see earth again and he wanted to get out of this bunker. He rolled over in his bed, groaning in annoyance. There was still so much he didn't understand.

* * *

Eren  _knew_  that what he was doing was stupid and ignorant but he couldn't help it. Curfew was hours ago, but he just had to sneak out of bed and return to the training arena. He had to learn how to fly. He just  _had_ to.

He wanted to prove to Levi that he could do this; that he wasn't weak. Every time Levi gave him that disappointed look his stomach plummeted and he wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

And so he ran and jumped and ran and jumped until his elbows and knees were bleeding. His wings felt like lead, but he continued to stand and try. Eren took a deep breath, and tried his best to clear his mind. He took off running and flapped his wings as he threw himself into the air. He managed to stay up longer this time, and was able to hover a moment before his feathers gave out and he collided with the ground. His breath was labored and he panted as he stared at the ground. He let out a shout of anger and aimed a fist at the grass.

"You're not angling your wings right."

Eren let out a shout and looked to Levi who was walking steadily with his hands in his pajama pants.  _He's always sneaking up on me…how did he-_

"I could hear you all the way from the tenth floor." Levi stopped in front of Eren who was kneeling on the ground. He was bloody and gross and was almost ashamed of the man seeing him that way. He was surprised to see a pale hand in front of his face, and he took it graciously. Levi pulled him effortlessly onto his feet and stood back again. "You're going to kill yourself."

"I have to try," Eren looked away in shame, "I want to be useful again."

Levi responded naturally, " _Again_  suggests that you were ever useful at one point." Eren looked away embarrassed. He skeptically looked at Eren, before nodding slowly. "Alright. Then you need to flap your wings like this," Levi unfurled the perfect black wings from his back, and jumped into the air, showing how they moved. It took Eren's breath away. "When you hover, you need to move them up and down. If you want to go somewhere, you need push from front to back. Gravity is bitch but you have to get used to it." He landed his feet back on the ground, and took a few steps back, motioning Eren to try.

Eren breathed, "Okay." And began to run forward. He focused on giving energy to his legs, and pushed his wings down forcefully as he jumped. He was surprised to feel himself launch into the air, and he continued to flap his wings until he was moving forwards at a steady pace. He felt his black wings get heavier, until he was back on the ground again. He rolled a bit, covering himself with more grass and dirt, but looked over at Levi with a huge grin. He put his hands up in the air and yelled, "I did it!"

Levi showed a soft smile on his face before saying, "That landing was terrible. Again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've had these first two chapters written for a while now so i thought i might as well put them up relatively close to each other ha


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone stop me im having too much fun

“You’re holding it wrong.”

Eren rolled his eyes, “I do everything wrong, apparently.”

“Don’t give me an attitude asshole.” Levi retorted, “Stop wasting my time and do it right.” Eren adjusted his hands on the blades and went back to starting position. He had just gotten issued his own swords a week ago. Levi had handed them to him, and Eren almost dropped them immediately.

Eren must have still been holding the swords wrong, because Levi sighed angrily and marched over to readjust his grip. “Like this.”

When their fingers touched Eren found himself holding his breath. They were long and elegant, and very pale against his own tan skin.  Levi backed away and Eren muttered, “T-thanks-“

“Stop standing there like a fucking idiot and hit the target.” Levi snapped.

Eren jolted into position, and began hitting the large stone at the market areas. The metal clinked against the stone again and again, Eren practicing the basic formations he had learnt over the past few weeks. It felt pointless as his sword just bounced away from the target with every hit.

“Harder.” Levi called, and Eren swung harder, digging his heels into the ground. The leader yelled angrily, “You’re not even making a dent! Some demons have skin harder than stone, fucking-“

Levi cut himself off when Eren let out a frightening shout and swung his two swords into the side of the target, making a clean incision halfway through the rock. Eren surprised himself, jumping back slightly and dropping his swords to the ground. He was panting, his face red from anger. Levi’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, but his face went stoic again. “Stop,” Eren panted, “yelling at me like I’m an animal. I’m trying.”

“Shouting seems to be the only thing that works.” Levi touched the cut in the stone with two fingers. It was hot. “Hm.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Do it again.”

“Again?”

“Do I have to fucking repeat myself?”

“I can’t do it again.” Eren picked up his swords off the ground. “I don’t even know how I did it the first time.”

“If you did it once, you can do it _again_ now move.” Levi bellowed, and Eren took the beginning position once more.

* * *

 

“Levi seems to be having fun with you.” Jean sneered.

Eren laughed ironically, “If you can even call it that.”

“I think he’s taken a liking to you, honestly,” Marco laid across Jeans bed, tossing a baseball up in the air and catching it again. “If he hadn’t then he wouldn’t push you so much.” Eren rolled his eyes.

“How’s flying coming along?” Asked Reiner. He had snuck into their room past curfew, and sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

Eren sighed, “Still terrible. I can only stay in the air for a few minutes until my wings feel too heavy.”

“It’s just practice.” Marco gave an encouraging smile, “Our wings are like muscles. You just have to keep using them until they get stronger.”

“One day you won’t even think about it,” Connie grinned.

“I feel like a piece of shit though,” Eren ran his hands through his messy hair, “I took advantage of my heavenly wings. They were good to me, I never had to think twice about flying.”

“Honestly,” Jean piped up from across the room, “These are stronger. It takes a while to get going, but once you do, dark wings will never let you down.”

The three other dark angels in the room made noises of agreement, and Eren flopped down in his bed, thinking of the dark haired leader and his gorgeous black wings.

* * *

 

That musty smell was recognizable enough to know exactly where he was. He panicked, as he felt his hands in chains behind his back. Eren looked around, but his eyes couldn’t adjust to the darkness. He gasped out loud when he felt warm blood dripping down his back. There was an unbelievably sharp pain that emitted where his new wings should be. It hurt so bad he couldn’t scream. He just lay there, with his cheek pressed against the ground and his mouth open gasping in pain. He was shaking and afraid; nausea settled in his stomach. He couldn’t remember anything- and that terrified him.

The door swung open, and Eren strained his neck to see the figure in the doorway. He recognized it almost immediately, and a shallow glimmer of hope resonated in his heart. He gasped, but just choked noises emitted.

“What an idiot.” The figure flicked on the lights, and Eren’s eyes burned. Levi peeled off his gloves, and threw them to the ground. He repeated, “What a fucking idiot.”

“Levi-“ Eren choked, but the figure snapped,

“Shut up.” Levi picked Eren up off the ground by his shirt collar, and effortlessly slammed him against the wall. His open wound rubbed against the rough stone and the pain was mind numbing. He opened his mouth, tilted his head back, and screamed until his throat dried. “I said _shut up-_ “ Levi slammed him against the wall again. “Fucking useless, you are. Useless. Can’t even fly. I keep wasting all my goddamn time with you.” He dropped Eren to the floor, and the young angel cried out.

“Please.”

“You deserve to be dead.”

“Levi-“

The man picked him up again and threw him on the table. “You know what, no.” With one swift yank, he ripped off Eren’s pants. A loud tearing noise echoed on the walls. “I’ll make you wish you were dead.”

* * *

 

The bedroom jumped to life when a blood curdling scream echoed off the walls. Connie yelped and fell off his bed, while Marco and Jean both shot up, eyes wide and hearts thumping against their chests.

“What the fuck was that?” Jean placed a hand to his heart. Eren took a deep breath from his bed and screamed again.

“Jesus-“

“Eren?” Marco called gently. He made his way in the dark towards Eren’s bed. Connie reached up to flip on the lights. Marco yelped and fell backwards as he suddenly saw what was sitting on the trainee’s chest.

“Holy shit!” Connie cried, and Jean practically flew across the room, beating his wings to grab Marco and pull him back.

An alp was sitting on Eren, digging its fangs into Eren’s neck like a vampire. It looked over to the boys and hissed angrily. It had grown large- about the size of a dog.

“A nightmare demon!” Marco gasped. The creature snarled, protectively placing itself around Eren’s sleeping face that was shrieking louder than an alarm.

“We don’t have weapons.”  Jean panicked, and Connie bolted out of the room to get help. The alp suddenly lunged forwards, and Marco rolled out of the way as Jean grabbed an old book off the floor and smacked it across its head like a baseball bat. Jean yelled, “Marco _look for something-_ “

“I’m looking I’m looking!” The freckled boy scrambled around the room looking for _anything_ to kill it with as Jean continued to square off with the demon. It lunged forwards again, and Jean used the book as a shield. They both fell backwards, and the beast snarled inches from Jean’s nose. Jean turned his head in disgust, and pushed hard with his legs, kicking the beast back a couple feet.

“ _Marco_ -“

Panicking, the fallen angel noticed a pencil on the ground. Not thinking twice, he picked it up off and held it between his fingers like a cigarette. The alp lunged again, and Jean covered his face. Marco threw the pencil hard and precise; the alp choked as the pencil sliced itself clean through its neck.  Jean took the opportunity to scramble away, and Marco moved over towards the screaming Eren to protect him if the beast jumped again.

Luckily it didn’t, as Levi came running through the door with a sword in hand and Connie in tow.

Marco sighed in relief, “Sir….thank heavens…”

Levi looked towards the beast that was writhing in pain, a pencil sticking out both ends of its neck. Levi walked towards the demon, raised his sword, and stuck it promptly in its head. The alp instantly froze, and fell to the ground.

The tension in the room was not lessoned; however, as all eyes turned towards Eren who was screaming like his was dying. Marco turned to him, and pressed a hand to his forehead, “Sir…why is he still screaming?“

The corporal scowled and moved over to sit on the bed- a fist came flying towards his face, and he grabbed it effortlessly. “It’s the poision.”

Connie whispered, “Is it deadly?”

“No, but it’s an alp’s poison,” Levi held a hand to Eren’s thrashing chest, and used his other hand to press two fingers against the bite mark on his neck. “It simulates pain, so whatever he’s dreaming about feels real.”

“That’s fucked up.”

Levi nodded stoically, “Go find Hanji. Maybe she has something to wake him up. Otherwise the whole damn building is going to hear this all night.”

The three dark angels nodded, and jogged out the door.

Levi sighed and turned to Eren. The boy was dripping in sweat; his wings were pressed against the pillows and twitching horribly. Every so often his back would arch off the bed and tears would run down his cheeks. Levi felt his heart drop when Eren panted, “Please, _Levi-_ _No!_ ” He cried out in pain and his head whipped to the side.

Levi held his breath, and he felt panic wash over his body. He ripped his hand away from Eren’s chest like it was on fire. It was like a fight or flight reaction- he wanted to run far away.  But he also wanted to grab this kid, hold him and tell him everything was fine. He felt the need to protect him with all his heart and soul.

But he couldn’t, because soon people would walk through that door.

So he opted for pressing a hand to Eren’s hot forehead, and wiping his bangs back. Eren screamed, but Levi continued to rub soothing circles around his neck. “It’s okay,” Levi found himself saying quietly. “It’s not real.” Eren panted, and Levi looked down at his heaving chest. He grazed his fingertips over his ears, down his throat and rested his palm over Eren’s thrashing heart. He instantly thought, _this boy is beautiful,_ but chased the thought away like a fly.

“Is he alive?!”

Levi turned to see Hanji running up to him holding some kind of syringe.

“Look for yourself,” Levi stood back and folded his arms.

Hanji pressed her fingers to the ugly bite mark and frowned. She opened one of his eyes, looked in an ear and pulled up his shirt to look at his stomach. “Hm.” She prepared the needle, “That demon had some strong poison. This may not wake him up right away.”

“Whatever stops the screaming.”  Levi muttered.

She injected the needle into his arm, and it was like a switch had been flipped. Eren’s body froze, and suddenly collapsed into the bed. Levi thought to himself _how the hell did that…_ Hanji had a peculiar look in her eyes, and it was like a lightbulb switched on in his head. Levi suddenly turned to glare at Hanji.

She sighed, “Phew, that seemed to work.”

“How did that thing get in here?” Levi questioned with a passive aggressive tone.

“What thing?” Hanji asked innocently.

Levi snarled, and pointed across the room at the evaporating demon, “ _That_ thing.”

Hanji suddenly cried, “No! Henry!” She caught her mistake immediately and covered her mouth with her hands.

Levi snapped, “You fucking _named_ it?!”

“He was just an experiment! I don’t know how he got out-“

“You had a pet demon! _Again?!_ How many times does Erwin have to tell you?”

“He was just a tiny little thing,” Hanji wrung her hands shamefully, “He was just a baby.”

“Does that look like a baby to you?!” Levi clenched his fist in anger, “Who knows what kind of hell that kid just experienced. He hasn’t even been out of the damn bunker and he’s already been bitten by your fucking pet.”

“Stop yelling! This isn’t-“

They paused when they heard a groan from across the room. Eren was sitting up in bed, holding his head in his hands. He wiped tears from his cheeks and groaned again as he felt pain sweep over his body, “What…”

“Oh, Eren,” Hanji whispered. She sat on his bed again, and placed a hand on his chest to press him back down to the sheets, “Please, rest. The antidote is still working on you.”

“Antidote?”

“A nightmare demon bit you.” Levi growled.

“…..was it Henry?”

Hanji swallowed in shame and Levi narrowed his eyes. Hanji said slowly, “….yeah….”

“Damnit Henry,” Eren closed his eyes and pressed a hand to his neck where the pain was most prominent. “Is he dead?”

“I killed it.” Levi snapped.

“Oh.” Eren whispered. Hanji looked sad, but Eren just kept his eyes closed. “Was I screaming?”

Hanji and Levi answered simultaneously, “Yes.”

“Sorry.”

“Just go back to sleep.” Hanji whispered.

“No!” Eren answered just a little too fast. Levi felt a sharp pain in his chest. Eren corrected, “Um…not…not yet.”

Hanji responded softly, “Then just rest. We’ll leave.”

And they did, clicking off the light as they left. Levi didn’t go back to sleep either. He was up all night, wondering what he did to Eren in his dream, and thinking of his sweaty flustered face as he said his name.

* * *

 

Reiner smirked, “So, Eren’s definitely a screamer.”

Eren thumped his head against the cafeteria table and groaned. His warm breakfast was cooling but he didn’t care. “This is the worst.”

“It’s not your fault.” Christa glared across the table at the laughing fallen angels.

“I told you this kid was bad luck,” Jean elbowed Marco next to him playfully.

Marco elbowed him back, but not so nicely, “Don’t be an ass. It could have been any of us.”

“Yeah, alp poison is extremely painful.” Sasha looked down at her plate.

Ymir rolled her eyes, “Don’t act like you’ve ever been bitten.”

“I have!” Sasha defended. “In Guatemala! You were there, remember?”

“Oh yeah…”

“Do you remember your dream?” Reiner shoved at his shoulder, trying to get him to eat.

“Yeah.” Eren sat up sleepily and lied. “I dreamt I was going through the extraction again.” The table went silent, and Eren decided to leave the part out about Levi.

“So…” Connie decided to change the subject, “You guys ready for training today?”

There were a couple groans from around the table. Jean stabbed his waffle with this fork angrily and spat, “If Erwin makes us do that damn aerial training _one more time…_ ”

“What is he making you do?” Eren asked with his mouth full.

“Oh yeah, you’re getting _special training_ ,” Ymir teased and wiggled her eyebrows. Eren threw a grape at her.

“There are hoops that hang from the ceiling of the dome.” Christa used her hands as she talked, “They’re very close together, and we have to weave in and out of them quickly, grabbing flags as we go.”

“It’s horrible.” Bertholt sighed softly, “I’d rather learn formations.”

“Levi will probably have you join in soon, seeing as you’re doing so well.” Reiner grinned.

Eren nodded, “It sounds interesting.”

Jean rolled his eyes, “Always eager, aren’t you?”

“At least I’m not a bitter old ass,” Eren replied smoothly.

Jean stood up to yell, but one glance from Erwin across the room put an end to it.

* * *

“So I heard about the incident last night.”

Levi paused halfway through wiping off his desk. He looked up at Erwin, and then scowled as he returned to cleaning, “I’m pretty sure the whole damn corps heard about it.”

“They know.” Erwin sat at his desk, not talking about angels, “That thing must have made a straight b-line towards him.” He fingered a pencil absent mindedly.

Levi sighed, “Yeah.” He thought of the creature wriggling in pain on the ground and was filled with hate. “If anything, my crew deserves props for quick thinking. Marco has impeccable aim, as expected.”

“Your crew?” Erwin asked with an amused smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“Well yeah,” Levi spat, “I’m the one who’s always taking care of them. You just sit up here on your high horse doing-“

“Alright, alright,” Erwin laughed, holding his hands up in defense, not wanting to fight. He tapped the pencil against the desk, “Will Jaeger be up for training?”

“He damn well better be.”

“Hm.” An amused smirk fell on his face, but erased it before Levi could see. “How is that going?”

“He’s doing as well as we predicted.” Erwin noticed Levi’s tone turn softer. “He’s still fucking terrible at flying, but he’s actually half decent with those swords.”

“Really?” Erwin continued to roll the bloody pencil between his fingers.

“Yep.” The shorter angel turned from his work to look at Erwin, “He sliced the stone target almost half.”

“and?”

“Part of it melted.”

Erwin smiled to himself and shuffled the paperwork on his desk, “Then you know what to do.”

Levi grinned.

* * *

 

“You want me to do _what_ now?” Eren’s eyes were wide with surprise.

“Spar me.” Levi repeated smoothly. He skimmed his fingers against his own blade and gave Eren an amused look.

“Okay, I know I’m pretty stupid,” Eren breathed, “But I’m not that stupid. I’ve seen you train before, you’ll fuck me up.”

“I’m bored watching you smack that stone all day.” Levi shifted his wings and pulled them against his back. “You know all the formations- now you need to practice a real life target.”

Eren shook his head as he picked up his swords, “I’m going to die.”

Levi rolled his eyes, “Don’t be so dramatic. Were just doing one blade it’s no big deal.”

They both took up starting positions and crossed blades. They slowly began to circle each other around the arena. They must have attracted the attention of Erwin, who was teaching the rest of the dark angels, because everyone had paused and was watching the fight from across the arena.

Levi must have gotten bored, because he suddenly lunged forwards and swung at Eren’s feet. Eren scampered back to avoid it, but lost balance and fell on his ass. Levi pointed the blade at his neck and smirked as he said, “1-0.”

Eren scowled and stood up to take beginning position again. He didn’t have enough time to even react, because it seconds Levi had round housed a kick to his stomach and he flew back a good couple of feet.

“Ugghh,” He groaned and dropped his sword, holding his stomach in pain.

“2-0” Levi sighed, and rolled his eyes. “Come on.”

Eren stood back up again, this time charging forwards with a shout. Levi dodged him easily and swung towards his head. Eren brought up his blade and they crossed swords inches away from Eren’s neck. Eren grunted and pushed back, gasping as he dodged another swing. Levi was just playing with him- Eren could tell from the way he gracefully dodged every attack and effortlessly swung at him. He even yawned for good measure.  

He was on his back once again with a sword at his throat, and Levi called, “3-0.”

That last blow had left him winded, however, and he sat gasping for breath. He heard Connie yell, “Come on Eren! Get up!”

He rolled onto his feet and swept up his sword. He took a defensive position and waited for Levi to attack. The leader raised a dark eyebrow and circled. He lunged forwards once again, and Eren blocked his blow with the bottom part of his blade. He let out a loud cry as he pushed forwards and attempted to knock back Levi. The man was like stone however, and his heels only budged a few inches. Levi slid his sword away from Eren’s, dodging the blade that slid past his nose and swept a foot into Eren’s side.

Eren flopped back down on the grass and moaned as he felt a rib out of place.

“That was better.” Levi glanced at his sword, that had an ever so small trail of smoke trailing off it. He looked over at Eren who was holding his side in pain. Levi noticed another trail of steam evaporating from his hands. Levi smiled, but wiped it off his face before he reached down and held out a hand to pull Eren to his feet. Eren accepted it graciously.

“Why are we doing this?” Eren spat out blood, “I’m never going to be able to beat you. You’ve had like, 900 years to practice.”

“A thousand, actually.”

“Even better.”

Levi rolled his eyes, “The point isn’t to _beat_ me. It’s to defend yourself. 4-0.”

Eren took the defensive position and set his face into a determined one, “Alright. Let’s go.”

Levi smirked to himself and thought _there we are._

* * *

 

Levi continued this habit of randomly asking him to spar every so often. It frustrated Eren beyond reason because he had yet to even land a blow on him. Meanwhile Levi had given him broken noses, ribs, and a couple dislocated shoulders. Eren wanted to punch that smug look off his face.

One afternoon he wandered back into the arena in hopes of practicing flight. He wasn’t expecting Levi to be in there, however. Eren stepped in, and immediately jumped back behind the door. He peaked in and watched in awe. The flight rings were lowered, and Levi was flying between them with grace and beauty. He flipped easily, and was able to turn completely on a dime. He watched him spin over and over- not getting dizzy once. He suddenly paused, flaring out his large black wings, and hovering. He turned his attention towards the door, and Eren hid back behind it.  He heard Levi’s feet hit the ground, and Eren whispered, “Fuck.”

“What are you doing, Eren?” 

He peeked back around the door and saw Levi wiping off his face with a towel. “Umm, sorry.” He stepped out and rubbed behind his neck, “I came to practice flying.”

“Well I’m not going to stop you,” Levi took a sip of water and beckoned him forwards.

Eren looked down at his hands nervously, and then walked over slowly. “You’re…incredible.”

For a fraction of a second, Levi had an amused expression. It returned to stone, and Levi replied, “I better be when I’ve been doing it for so fucking long.”

Eren looked up at the rings and shook his head, “I won’t ever be able to do that.”

“You will.” Levi sat down on the grass, snarling at the dirt, “Braun was right, you’re going to join in on flight training soon.”

“You heard that?” Eren thought back to the loud cafeteria.

“I have good hearing, in case you haven’t noticed.”

Eren said under his breath, “You’re just perfect, aren’t you?” Levi gave him a skeptical look, but dropped the topic when Eren looked away, embarrassed. Eren spread his wings and began to stretch them. He looked back over to Levi and asked, “So, if I’m going to join everyone else … are we done?”

Levi gave a sharp, sarcastic laugh, “No. You still have a lot to learn.”

There was bright feeling in Eren’s chest, and he smiled. “Oh, okay.”

When Eren turned away to leap into the air, Levi gave a small smile too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all the love <3
> 
> sorry for any mistakes

**Author's Note:**

> sorry, this first chapter is mostly just set up  
> soon we'll get into actual good stuff hue


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